I was sitting in a meeting last week discussing Web marketing. We were lamenting that, while we're excited social media has finally grabbed the attention of pharma clients, we don't want them to therefore neglect the digital marketing basics.
It wasn't so long ago that marketers were crying,
"forget about the Web site,
it's all about SEARCH!"
Now it's:
"forget about the Web site and search,
it's all about SOCIAL!"
It was a good reminder that, with many things in life, it's never a good idea to put all of your eggs in one basket. Least of all the social basket.
Moral of the story for the pharma marketer? Don’t "forget" about any of it ... search, unbranded and branded Web sites, eCRM, email marketing, partnerships, online advertising ... It’s all important in it's own right. Work with your agency to find the right mix for your own brand's objectives. But please don't dump all your budgets into social.
In preparations for 2010 planning (wow, 2010 already?!)... yes, see if you can weave some social programs into existing strategies. Yes, push the envelope.
But also be sure to look past the hype with a level head, and you'll be fine.
2 comments:
Wendy,
Ahh! The social media buzzword! Yes, it's everywhere now!
I was curious if you had seen Julie Batten's article over at ClickZ explaining the relationship between buzz, links and SEO?
It's a good quick explanation of the connection between social and search.
In fact, I consider them to be "brothers". :)
Wikipedia, forums, blogs, profiles (and more) show up in search results regularly. (Google even displays Facebook friends in search listings now.)
You can personalize search listings and add widgets.
Image, video and map listings are often user generated.
And, while social media is definitely growing as a major activity online - most consumers still find information and navigate the web via search.
Even social media outlet's themselves use search engines!
My bottom line: Social media can really empower search and vice versa. They certainly should be integrated efforts!
Hi, Chris:
You make a great point about the exciting connection between social and search. Great article from ClickZ too - thanks for sharing.
Yes - thank you for the valuable reminder that search and social are inherently integrated and shouldn't be thought of as separate efforts. Search is still the default action on the Web, and no doubt we'll see more and more integration of "search and social" in the future.
Post a Comment